Introduction by Dee Dao, President of the FOBIP Alumni Network warming up the audience at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

The event kicked off with an introduction by the moderator Sarah Webb, a journalist for the Webb of Science. She briefly touched on the issues of our new digital age, in which many people are communicating with each other in 140 characters, or less. She mentioned the issues such as freedom of speech and government regulation in the biotech/pharma industry, discussed the ways in which people interact with healthcare companies online, and gave examples of successful early adapters of online communications strategies in medicine. She asked what do customers want, as they get their information from the internet? Today 61% of people are getting their health information online, according to a Pew study. However, only 1/2 of those people are generating content i.e. posting to blogs, commenting in forums, or contributing to discussions in an online community.

This was followed by a fantastic presentation by Michelle Hoffmann, Senior Research Manager at Deloitte Research. There is alot of buzz around social networks, there was even a movie about it- it is on everyone’s agenda. Every kid is doing it, you probably do it yourself. But, is there value in it? It’s actually very hard to make money from social media. Clients asked Deloitte: If we use this, will we find value? Deloitte answered by doing research on social networks, which is actually different than social media. What should life science networks be thinking about? How can life science companies engage in this to find value? Michelle admitted that there is hype, and there is hope. Does anyone want to ‘friend’ a company? No. The system works on the premise of data collection and collaboration between administrators and users. Does social marketing improve brand? The jury is still out. She repeated the mantra “If you build it, they will not come”. Recommend that you don’t advertise- it often doesn’t work. There are many options: blogs, wiki’s, RapidFeed, i.e. microblog such as twitter. Focused communities are rising where people come together for a single interest or event. There are more people on Facebook than the entire United States. There is alot of hype. Why are Life Sciences clients interested in this? They are interested because patients are going online to find relevant information to achieve some sort of healthcare outcome, and these networks are consumer/patient driven. There are possibilities for physicians to come enter and interact, possibly for-profit operations. 60% of doctors are using social networking for professional purposes. Social networking is most commonly being used by patients and their families, especially those fighting cancer and childhood diseases. However, obesity treatment via weight loss has not seen any significant social network activity due to the “on again, off again” nature of the therapy.

There are many different methods for collecting information, so why choose social netoworks? Owning or running a social network can give the administrator a curated database of information unavailable to them from other sources or databases. Some of the strengths of using social networking include: Collect Information- Market research, competetive intelligence Communicate- Social networks rely on “pull in” information, opposed to the traditional communications strategy of “push out”

There are social networks where physicians can actually exchange information in an online community, such as Ozmosis which bills itself as “The Trusted Physician’s Network, where good doctors go to become great doctor”s). In Sermo, a “Forum to share latest medical insights for physicians”, physicians remain anonymous. 23% of physicians plan on using social networking in the next 12-18 mo. However, it does take alot of blood, sweat and tears and manpower to get a social network running and keeping it up to date. It is not like a static web page, which can just be set up and the owner walks away. Deloitte recommends to those life science companies interested in setting up social networks to hire a very experienced moderator. People use social networking for many reasons, i.e. recreational and transactional purposes. The transactional user will need a review for a product or advice in a scenario. For example, their baby has a fever, what do they do? This is where physicians and consumers can come in and interact. Deloitte has been showing their life science clients that there’s value in social networking. For example, SpineConnect allows “spine surgeons from around the world log-on to SpineConnect to share knowledge, develop novel approaches to treatment, address the top challenges in spine healthcare, and create technological solutions that address voids in the current marketplace with the underlying goal of improving patient outcomes”. Finally, Michelle stated that she felt social network’s strength was in up-to-date information on topics that are filled with uncertainty.

Thank you to our attentive and diverse audience!

Louise Clemens, a digital strategy consultant explained that pharma wants to use social networking, but are very afraid to. She focused on what is working now. Elsevier Publishing is currently using this platform to allow editors to engage in conversation, and interact directly with their advisory board. The American College for Gastroenterology, via their ACG GI Circle has set up a system where members can participate in the conversation by commenting on abstracts and following authors- a great way to cultivate information and keep the scientific discussion going past an initial meeting at a conference.

There were some very interesting topics brought up during the final discussion. It was noted that the Mayo Clinic has over 300 videos up on YouTube. The FDA represents the large unknown in this sector. While they have no official social networking guidelines in place yet for the industry, the FDA themselves is publishing alot of content online via social networks. In 2010 the FDA issued 52 warning letters to the pharmaceutical industry, but only one involved social media. That was a Google Ad for a drug, which was faulted for not providing the proper warnings and side effects for the product with its advertisement. Johnson & Johnson has been very successful in opening up dialogue with patients and customers via their social media team, which responds to the individual questions submitted via their social network online (See J&J Diabetes Institute Online Community). Remember to never launch on a Friday. And finally, the future of this field will probably lie in location based sites such as Groupon, Foursquare and MyCityWay.

The evening ended with a fun and lively networking session which had food and drinks provided by the FOBIP.

When Matthew Engel invited me to guest post, he suggested I write an article on communications strategies since many graduates of the Fundamentals of the Bioscience Industry Program would be seeking employment in very specialized areas.

My business is helping biotech, device, healthcare, and emerging technology companies tell their story and how I do that was going to be the subject of the post. But then, my friend Graham Lawlor of UltraLightStartups gave me his copy of Gary Vaynerchuck’s Crush It! and I thought, “Hey, this speaks more to the idea of personal branding and is applicable to both individuals and small companies.”

At its core, Crush It! gives you the following formula for building your personal brand:

Vaynerchuck claims building your personal brand is necessary to crush it in your industry and ‘make your entrepreneurial dreams come true.” He built his personal brand to increase sales at his family’s wine store, signed a 7-figure book deal and became an internet celebrity in the process.

But, what is a personal brand and why does it matter? A personal brand is the process whereby you and your career is marketed as a brand. It’s claimed management guru Tom Peters first used the term in 1997, so the idea is not that new. Dan Schwabel, Author of Me 2.0, says “The goal of personal branding is to be recruited based on your brand, not applying for jobs.” Gary’s do-it-yourself method is similar to what I would do for any company. The first thing I ask potential clients is: What do you want people to remember about your company? What is the one thing that is guaranteed to differentiate you from anyone else in your niche? The process starts with a great story. Then, you need to figure out who to tell the story to and how to reach them.

When you’ve started a company and no one knows you, I suggest founders focus on their expertise and getting known as experts. To do that, participate in forums online and get known as the go-to person for your topic. The people in the forums will be your initial audience. They could be employers. Then, who is your audience? Where do they hang out? What’s the best way to reach them? If it’s the internet, then things like social media make sense. If not, you may have to pick up the phone and go meet people in person. Vaynerchuck claims, “The thing most people don’t realize is that… your business and personal brand need to be one and the same.”

The WineLibraryTV.com‘s host and internet celebrity’s book is a useful blueprint that you could leverage to market yourself and look for a job.

Bio: Karl Schmieder is the founder of MessagingLab, a communications firm that works with healthcare companies developing disruptive technologies. Karl has worked with the A to Z of biotech and life sciences companies and has helped launch the blockbuster drugs Januvia (Merck), Lucentis (Genentech) and Risperdal (Janssen). He blogs actively at messaginglab.com.